Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Trailer Trash

I dragged a trailer to Shipshe last week,

And I backed it up without missing a beat!

Well, maybe not missing a beat or two,

But it sure wasn’t easy….just let me tell you!

It was a great time we had at the NQA Quilt Show in Columbus two weeks ago, and immediately following that fun event we headed to Indiana's Amish community, Shipshewana, for a great 5 days at the Shipshewana Quilt Festival.

Shipshewana has these stunning gardens that have been laid out like quilt squares. I was almost standing on top of the Stitch Mobile, and still it's not a great picture, but maybe you get the idea!

We were really exhausted after coming off the NQA Show. I had a great Mystery Class and we had a large booth....and of course, we ran out of product. (for those of you who do not vend at shows, this is a GOOD thing!) I had no time to order more stock and have it shipped to our shop, sew I ordered it to be shipped to our hotel in Shipshewana, and then I picked some of it up at the Checker Distributor's warehouse. Checker is our main source for product, plus I am a demonstrator and consultant for them, sew we love to take a bit of time and visit the warehouse and fondle all the beautiful fabrics whenever we have an excuse!

Because we have a triple booth in Shipshewana, we needed a lot of product and a lot of fixtures....and a LOT of help! I was teaching two days and needed plenty of staff in the booth, sew there were a total of 4 of us heading to Indiana. This meant the Stitch Mobile needed some extra seats (rather than just the driver and passenger) and that meant less room for merchandise. And THAT meant I had to drag a trailer.....again.

I'm a pretty good driver (well over 600,000 miles and no accident) but, backing up a trailer....well, it's just not a pretty sight.

The gang and I hit Checker on Tuesday last week and loaded up all the goodies that had not been shipped ahead. We had a lovely lunch and then turned left and drove to Shipshewana.

We were able to set up our booth between the hours of 4 and 8pm. Did I mention I had a triple booth?? Yeowza! Of course, we got the goods unloaded, then we scratched our heads and considered the possibilities then before we were ejected from the booth we managed to hang all the quilt and set up the bones.

With visions of how the booth was to be set, we headed to the hotel. We dropped the trailer!!!!! (Can I tell you how excited I am that we could do that?! Last year we had to drag it all over Shipshe because we never got out of the show before all the stores were closed and we didn't have a trailer lock!)

Sew I backed the trailer into the parking space. (First shot! Can I brag?!)

Janice-the-camper gave good instructions and support!

The hitch was lifted off the tow-ball.

Then I had to wrap the safety chains and lock the trailer down.

The Count made sure I had a good assortment of locks from which to choose!

First lock on!

Second lock on!

I remembered to remove the tow-hitch!!

And put it together sew we had all the parts when we were ready to re-hitch the trailer!

A GREAT sense of freedom to drop the trailer!

Now it was time for dinner!

Last year friends at Checker suggested that if we wanted a glass of wine or beer with dinner we drive to a cute little sports bar in LaGrange, 10 miles east of Shipshewana. No prob!! We headed east (last year we were dragging the trailer, remember?) and stopped at a place that looked like a sports bar, and we were able to pull in to the spot in front of the bar on the street, and were guaranteed to be able to still pull forward when we left. Upon walking into the establishment we quickly discovered that it was a biker bar, and not the family sports bar we were seeking (another story for another time!). Eventually we found the little restaurant we were seeking (Grossman's Restaurant in LaGrange, IN). We had such a nice time (and such a reasonable bill!) that we ate there every night we were in Shipshewana ~~ last year AND this year! Highly recommended!

Sew, trailer-free we zoomed to our 'Cheers' in Lagrange, IN. We had a great time and a great meal! Headed back to the hotel and next morning bright-and-early we were back in our booth putting on the finishing touches.

We had a great show and had LOTS of fun! As usual there are many, many stories, most we can't share on a blog :-) [But we're always willing to share in person!!] Unfortunately it was freezing in the vendor mall. But really ~ when your business is quilts, is there any reason to freeze?? (And of course, there's always a chick having a Hot Flash!! lol!)

At the end of the show, Saturday at 4pm, we hitched up our trailer and loaded it up with our fixtures and the remains of the show.

We poured ourselves into our assigned seats, grabbed some food-to-go (from Grossman's!!) and slithered our way southeast to Columbus, Circleville and Stoutsville. We were all in bed by midnight. Ahhhh....

Next day: Family Picnic!

In a couple days The Count and I head to New York for a bit of R&R(&S) ~ Ron and Rita and Shannon, NY daughter. Looking forward to sharing more fun with you! Until then, I head to the garden for the continuation of more weeding and leave you ~~ In Stitches, Rita

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I am an oldest child / only daughter and happily married, lucky mom of 4 awesome children, 2 wonderful kids 'n law and almost 2 granddaughters! I live on a small farm in rural southern Ohio with the hubster and my new wonder-pup, Laci-Mae (usually known as Laci-NO!). I've had a quilt shop in Chillicothe, OH for almost 20 years. I teach, travel, talk, and anything else that causes me to be with happy people who love to be alive! Life is awesome....enjoy every minute of the ride!